Carnal Sin

unfaithful men. In exchange, Wendy’s family members are given favor on Earth and believe they will also have authority in the underworld. What they don’t realize, and will never accept, is that fallen angels control the underworld. They will never allow a demon who had once been human to have any power in Hell.”

Moira watched Nina’s expression closely. She’d listened, but Moira didn’t know what she thought about Rafe’s revelation.

Rafe continued. “From what we’ve learned, Craig Monroe was targeted because he was a jerk who was cruel to his girlfriend, a waitress at Velocity. George Erickson was targeted because he reneged on his arrangement with his wife, namely that she could have sex outside of marriage but he could not.”

Nina hit her knee. “That’s what I told Grant! He told you that?” She glared accusingly at Moira. “You didn’t tell me that. You said you thought it was an open marriage. You lied to me.”

Moira shook her head. “I told you we heard he had an open marriage. Nelson didn’t tell us it was one- sided.”

Before Nina could become more irritated, Rafe continued. “That fits with what we know about witches. She would want complete and total freedom, and as a member of a sex coven, she would participate in a multitude of sexual activities in order to maintain her supernatural strength. The more they participate, the more they need, if you understand.”

“Like drugs. You need more and more coke or heroin to get the same high.”

“Precisely. Only with sex magic, the more you participate, the greater your supernatural power-your magic-is here on Earth. Spells and rituals are still important, as part of the big picture, but on the micro level, you can essentially wiggle your nose and gain small favors.”

Wiggle your nose? Since when had Rafe watched popular television? Moira wondered.

“And Pamela Erickson was part of this sex coven?”

“That picture proves it. If you look at the symbols, you see the occult, correct?”

Nina stared at the photograph. “Yes. It looks sort of like what I see in the movies.”

“Sort of?”

“It’s more … simple. Almost a parody.”

“Because these rituals aren’t elaborate. In fact, they are a lot easier than most people think. Because most of the spell is done up here.” He tapped his head. “The circle there is called a spirit trap, or a devil’s circle, or any number of things. Practically? It’s a portal. It’s a place where the layer between Hell and Earth is thin, and demons can be summoned and controlled. The picture your friend took is of a classic demon trap. We were told that they have one sacrifice a year in order to keep favor with the underworld. We know that they planned three victims this time. Only, when they changed the ritual to give the succubus more power, they trapped the wrong demon.”

Nina didn’t say anything for a long minute, and Moira thought she was going to laugh at them and leave. Then she asked, “And Pamela had a demon kill George?”

“Yes.”

“But Nadine’s fingerprints were all over his bedroom.”

“Nadine volunteered her body to the demon and then killed George.”

“But Nadine died.”

Rafe was somber. “We’re not exactly sure why, but the demon left Nadine’s body.”

“Okay, I’ve been a good sport. And I can almost believe you-almost. But why would the demon care if anyone saw it? From what you just said, it’s powerful! Why not just kill Moira or you or everyone? Why aren’t we overrun by demons?”

“Like any spirit, they have limitations.”

“But you said they were fallen angels. Are you saying they’re not superhuman? They don’t have special powers?”

Moira felt Nina begin to close up, questions rolling off her tongue like those of a prosecutor. She leaned forward and took Nina’s other hand. At first the woman tried to pull away, but Moira held tight. “Nina, everything Rafe said is true. I saw a death imprint of Craig Monroe in the alley. That means that after it happened-two days after it happened-I saw him die. Nadine is the one who killed him. And yes, regardless of what you saw on the video about how freaked out she was, it was her fault. She allowed herself to be possessed by the demon because she thought that she’d gain something from it. So while we might feel bad about what she went through-because dammit, I want so badly to believe that she felt awful about what she did-she was still responsible. When I saw Nadine on the street near Velocity, the demon knew I’d spotted her. It knew its time in her body was limited. Because that’s what Rafe and I do-we send demons back to Hell.”

Moira considered what she’d just said-it was the truth, but why would the demon be fearful of her? Was it vulnerable when it was trapped in a physical body? She needed to talk it out with Rafe. There was something they were missing.

“You’re an exorcist?” Nina looked skeptically at Rafe. “You don’t look like a Catholic priest.”

“Not all exorcists are priests, or Catholic,” Rafe said.

Nina stared at the photograph, her brows furrowed, thinking.

Rafe took Moira’s hand under the table and squeezed it. Something else, something beyond this, was disturbing him. Moira wanted to ask, but it would have to wait.

“What do you want from me?” Nina asked quietly.

Moira opened, then closed her mouth. She had wanted to see the file Nina had. But the picture was enough, and she didn’t want another outsider involved. It was too risky.

“We want you to know so that you’re diligent in protecting yourself against them,” Rafe said, “and because you know these people. We need a little help because we’re not from here.”

“I know Pam, but only through George.” She frowned. “I know of Wendy Donovan. And Grant’s girlfriend-she’s not part of it, is she?”

“She is,” Moira said, “and she’s a fucking liar, so-”

Rafe squeezed her hand so tight she almost said ouch.

“We don’t know everyone who is involved, only that Wendy recruits out of Velocity,” Rafe said.

“The club has only been around for two years.”

“Do you know where Wendy was before then?”

Nina shook her head. “I can find out. What do you need?”

“We need all the background information you can get on Wendy Donovan, and her fiance who died-” Moira glanced at Rafe. “What was his name?”

“Kyle Dane,” Rafe said.

“Kyle Dane? You think she killed Kyle Dane the musician?”

“We don’t know,” Rafe said at the same time Moira said, “Hell, yes.”

Rafe rubbed the back of his neck. “We can’t prove it. His death was ruled a heart attack. He was ill and went against doctor’s orders.”

“You know she was involved,” Moira said. She was tired of Rafe pinching and squeezing her leg to signal she was being bullheaded.

Rafe ignored the comment and told Nina, “Wendy has a sister, Nicole Donovan. She was involved in a coven in Santa Louisa that resulted in several deaths, including a teenager. Their mother was Susan Donovan, and she was raised in foster care.”

“Here in L.A.?”

“Yes.”

“I can get anything you need. Not necessarily legally, but I can find it.”

“We don’t want you to get into trouble-”

“I know how to cover my ass. I want to help. If you think this will help get George justice. I don’t want him to die in vain.”

“It will not only help George, but it will help us in our battle against these people for years to come.”

Nina tapped her finger on the table. “I’ll admit, I don’t know how much of this I believe, but I do know that Pam is bad news and I’d convinced George that he had to leave her. I loved him so much-but I didn’t care if he left her for me, or just left her. I just wanted him to be happy. So I can’t help but feel responsible that I had something